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bollocking

British

/ ˈbɒləkɪŋ /

noun

slang a severe telling-off; dressing-down

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bollocking

from bollock (vb) (in the sense: to reprimand)

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Also because lots of my scenes with Phil are me giving him a bollocking or getting really angry with him.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026

Ford was a hero of mine, and I got such great instruction from him, which he sort of made more of a bollocking than anything else.

From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2022

“When he stopped, she gave him a bollocking about Cuban food.”

From The New Yorker • Sep. 18, 2019

The characters are worried about getting a bollocking from Malcolm Tucker, or they’re worried about losing their job, or they’re just trying to get through the day without being fired.

From Slate • Apr. 20, 2012

I got my first bollocking off him, at half-time, for not wearing shin pads.

From The Guardian • Feb. 5, 2011

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023